Wire coating apparatus



Feb. 11, 1941 w. SCHULTZ 2,231,142

1 WIRE COATING APPARATUS I Fil ed May 15, 1940 Patented Feb. 11, 1941 I I I: I, I I Q I W E COAZZZ ZPARATUs v I Q h I Randall W. Schultz; Bloomsburg, Pa, assignor to Metalloys Company, Williams poration of Pennsylvania P r 2a., a cor- Application May 15, 1940, Serial No.'335,414

3 Claims. (Cl. zz-sm) The invention is an improvement on the apparatus for coating wire or other metal articles shown, (described and claimed in jmy United States Batent No. 2,072,060, granted February 23,

1:; 1 937 More particularly, it is an improved die casting structure for that apparatusa The constructionshown and claimed herein is a simplified and more efflcient arrangement for casting the coating. on therfoundation wire or other W -article I In view of the fact that this invention is a specific improvement, on theapparatus of my said Patent No. 2,072,060; it will not be necessary to .illustrate .the whole apparatus herein, and

only. sufiicient parts of the old structure will be shown and described as are necessary to understand the improvement.

In general, this invention is in the casting die and the cooperating elements. This part of the 20-." original machine isshown in Figs. 6 to 11 of my earlier patent referred to. p

i; In the drawing of the present application:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the casting elements and cooperating devices.

25 Fig.2 is an enlarged view of the leading guide by means of which the article to be coated is properly centered in the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the die and the means for holding the same in position.

30 4 is a planview or the main guide by means of which the wireor other article is directed through the castingdie.

As 'far as practicable; the same reference characters used in the patent will be used in this 35. application. I

Referring to the drawing, 30 represents the manifold or other source of supply through which the coating metal flows in a channel 3| to a chamber or well I00. This well which receives 40 the coating metal from the manifold 30 has associated with it a supplemental or auxiliary well IN. The opening between the chamber I and the auxiliary or supplemental well IN is controlled by a valve I02. 7

45 The casting die 40, Fig. 3, is substantially like the casting die so numbered in my said earlier Patent No. 2,072,060; and associated therewith is a guide which corresponds to one or the two guides used in my prior patent. The casting 60 die 44 is provided with a central opening 45 of the size ofthe wire or other article after the c'oatingmetal has been applied. The guide is provided with a central opening 50 of the size of the wire before the same is coated. It is essen- 55 tial that the opening 60' of the guide shall be concentric with the opening 45 of the die, for the difl'erence between the size of the holein the guide and the size of the hole in the die determines the thickness of the coating metal. The position of the die and its guide, and the means for holding the openings in these. two members concentric, may be varied at will; it is only essential that the position of these two parts with respect to each other shall be exactly maintained. As here shown, the die 44 and the 10 guide 59 are held in position in the auxiliary chamber IN by means of a plug I03 which screws into. an internally threaded recess I04 directly beneath the auxiliary or casting chamber IN.

This plug I03 itself has a recess I05 within which the casting die 44 closely fits. The guide 59 is provided with a ledge I01, which rests on the die 44 and engages around lip I06. thereon and holds the die and guide in position and in proper spaced relation one to the other. As the plug I03 is screwed into position, the casting die 44' and the guide 59 are held in place against the bottom of the auxiliary well or chamber IOI. While this is a simple'means for holding the casting die and its 'guide in position with respect to each other and with respect to other parts of the apparatus, it is to be understood of course that any other suitable' positioning arrangement may be used.

The guide 59 is provided with a series of openings 5| arranged around the central opening 60 so that the fluid metal can flow from the auxiliary well through these holes in the guide and on through the-casting'die as the wire to be coated passes therethrough.

The valve I02 whichcontrols the opening between the chamber I00 and the auxiliary chamher IN is arranged on the endof a somewhat elongated stem I I0 which extends up through the cover III of the chamber I00 and through the 40 stuffing box H2 and packing gland H3. This valve stem H0 is threaded at 4 where it passes through thegland I I3 and has fixed to the upper end thereof a handle H5 by which it may be turned in the gland M3 to open or close the valve I02. The valve stem H0 has an opening throughout its length through which the wire or other article to be coated may pass.

The opening or passageway through the valve stem is provided at the top thereof with a plug 51, Fig. 2. This may be secured in place in any convenient way. As here shown, the plug is threaded, and is screwed into cooperating threads arranged within the passageway through the valve stem H0. This plug 51 has an orifice 58 55 running from top to bottom therethrough, which orifice preferably is somewhat enlarged at its ,upper end, as at 58. The functions of plug 51 and orifice 58 will be explained fully below.

As here shown, the material to be coated I0 passes around a wheel or drum 85 as it comes from the preliminary coating bath, as in my earlier patent referred to. This wheel or pulley is mounted for rotation on an axis supported by one or more columns 86 secured to the top of the casting 81 through which passes the channel -30. It may of course be supported in any other suitable manner, but the periphery of the pulley must be so positioned that the wire or other material to be coated shall aline substantially with the hole 58 in the plug 51; so that the wire shall pass down over this pulley 85, through orifice 58, through the valve stem, through the guide 59 and the casting die 44.

In the bottom of the casting constituting the principal and auxiliary chambers I00 and IIII is an electric heater I5 held in position by an extension TI forminga part of the closure 18. Any other means for enclosing the electric heater would be the equivalent of this construction.

As in my said Patent No. 2,072,060, the invention contemplates the application of the coating by suction beneath the die rather than by a .positive pressure from above. As stated in the patent referred to, the use of a construction which produces a vacuum or a partial vacuum in the die chamber has certain distinct advantages over an apparatus which operates by building up pressure above the die; for it has been found that if oxygen is present in substantial amounts in the die chamber, considerable oxidation of the partsand of the coating metal takes place at the high temperatures used, and this oxide tends quickly to clog the orifice in the die. When the air is exhausted from beneath the die, this objectionable oxidation does not take place. While any preferred means for producing the suction may be used, I have here shown an ejector of substantially the same type as that disclosed and described in detail in my said Patent No. 2,072,060. Since no novelty is claimed in this ejector, it will not be described here. It is shown in the drawing as having a head 90 which is screwed or otherwise secured in the member 94-.

Generally, the operation of this improved apparatus is similar to that of the structure shown and claimed in my Patent No.- 2,072,060; but there are several important differences, and so the operation will be described in detail.

The valve I02 is normally closed when the apparatus is at rest. Assuming now that .the wire or other article to be coated I0 has been run over the wheel 85, threaded through orifice 58 in plug 51, through the longitudinal opening in valve stem II 0, through opening 60 in guide 59, and through the casting die 44, and is secured to a spool or other device for drawing the wire through the apparatus, and assuming that a supply of molten metal is available and has been run into chamber I00, the coating operation is begun by opening the valve I02 and by causing the wire or other article to be moved downwardly through the machine.

As soon as the valve I02 is moved from its seat, the molten metal will run up into the opening through valve stem I10, until it reaches a level substantially that of the metal in the melting .pot. The exact height reached by the metal in the valve stem will depend upon several factors, as, for instance, the head of metal, the size of the heretofore been conveniently possible.

interfere with the'flow of metal.

opening in the stem, the sizeof the article to be coated, and the rate of motion of the latter.

Preferably," the diameter of the passageway through the valve stem III) is (as shown in the drawing) considerably greater than the size of the article to be coated. This is for the reason that the moving wire will, of course, entrain some of the molten metal, and if the wire should substantially fill the passageway, the molten metal would not fill the stem.

is higher than the .top of .the valve stem. Under such conditions, the metal would, of course, run out at this point. By making orifice 58 relatively small, this difiiculty is avoided, for the moving wire will entrain enough of the metal to prevent an overflow.

As stated in my said Patent N 0. 2,072,060, it is desirable that the wire to be coated shall pass through the coating metal for as great a distance as may reasonably be possible. This long immersion provides two chief advantages: first, the wire is raised to the proper temperature; and, second, the coating metal is alloyed with the surface of the wire, and thus furnishes an ideal base for what is really the final coating. By arranging that this immersion takes place principally before the wire passes through opening 60 in guide 59, and that the distance between guide 59 and casting die 44 is relatively short, it has been found that whereas the coating will alloy thoroughly with the wire above guide 59, the final coating, applied at die 44, has very little time in which to alloy with the surface of the wire, and so the final coating is virtually pure metal.

The novel valve stem of the present invention provides an immersion of the wire in the molten metal of considerably greater duration than has In fact, it will be seen that, without enlarging or changing the principal elements of the machine, the length of the immersion may be varied at will by merely varying the length of the valve stem and the head of the metal. I

There are further important advantages of the present structure. From the time the wire enters the valve stem through opening 58 until it emerges at the bottom thereof, it passes through a body of metal which is substantially at rest, except for the motion produced .by the wire itself, and this motion is in the same direction as the movement of the wire. Below the valve, also, in the well I 0 I the wire exerts a force on the molten metal, and aids the flow into the die.

There are no substantial turns or angles to And there is less relative movement between the wire and the metal than before; in this apparatus, most of the movement is concurrent.

The speed of movement of the wire to be coated can be adjusted to suit the requirements of the coating metal, the stock to be coated, etc. As the wire passes through the ejector, it, with .its newly applied coating, is cooled by the fiuid flowing through the ejector, and is then wound up, or disposed of in any other desired manner, as it emerges from the bottom of the apparatus.

I claim:

1. In a wire coating machine, the combination to vary the position of the valve so as to control of a die chamber, a casting die therein, a guide in cooperative alinement with the castingrdie, a well to receive and hold the coating metal adjoining the die chamber, a valve seat-between I the well and the ,die' chamber, a valve adapted to cooperate with the seat, a stem for the valve,

the valve and its stem having a passageway therethrough for the material to becoated, and means for moving the valve away from and toward the valve seat.

2. Ina wire coating apparatus, the combination of a casting die chamber, a casting die arranged therein, a guide having a guiding orifice therein and arranged with its orifice in line with and concentric to the opening in the casting die, a well to receive and hold the coating metal located adjacent the die chamber and communicating with the die chamber through a valve controlled opening, a valve and valve stem therefor having a passageway therethrough for the 3 passage of the material to be coated, and means the flow of coating metal from the well to the casting chamber, substantially as described.

3. In a wire coating machine, the combination of a die chamber, 'a casting die therein, a guide adjacent the die having a guiding orifice in alinement with the orifice in the casting die, a well for receiving the coating metal arranged adjacent to the die chamber and communicating therewith through a valve controlled opening, a valve and valve stem therefor having a passageway 1'01 the passage of the material to be coated, the valve being adapted to control the opening between the well and the die chamber, the orifice through the valve stem being in substantial alinement with the orifices in the guide and' casting die, means for opening and closing RANDALL w. SCHULTZ. 

